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Pole saws
Can anyone recommend a good quality lightweight gas pole saw for tree trimming? That season is coming and I want to be ready! The idea of standing on a ladder with a chain saw gives me the willies. Yes, I have a safety helmet and glasses.
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Pole saws
The county guys who keep our road clear of overgrown trees use Stihl. I stopped to talk with them once and they said they thought it was good quality but heavy. Maybe they all feel heavy when you have to use them for hours on end. I'm curious if some of them have some sort of a support harness to help carry the weight, though the county folks didn't use one.
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Pole saws
Anyone ever hear of Tanaka pole saws or power equipment? Their pole saws sell for about 2/3 the price of Stihl. Any good?
Link:
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Pole saws
Thanks Chief, but at $600 I'd probably just buy the Stihl. The Tanaka is ~$300-400 on ebay and in my research they have gotten good reviews but users were hard to find. We'll see, I'll stop at the local Stihl and Husky dealers the first of next week.
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No TSC out this way. Regarding the Deere unit, somebody besides Deere probably makes it - any ideas who?
Murf, what do you mean Hydraulic? You mean stick somebody in the bucket with a chainsaw? I don't think so....
My needs will be ongoing - we have 15 acres to prune and will replant after harvest, and you know those trees. They never stop growing 
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Interesting Murf. Is that something you made or is it an off-the-shelf saw? I'd be interested in brands, price, etc. Quiet and light are GOOD. We only have to prune a few thousand trees 
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Thanks for the info JDF415. You seem to be quite the Deere historian. Do you work for them or something?
I'll certainly check out the Deere pole saw before plunking my money down on anything.
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It's great to have a knowledgeable JD dealer on board. I think you've been very even-handed and unbiased in your postings which is very welcome here.
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Thanks Chief. I plan on going out this afternoon to both Stihl, Husky, and my JD dealer. Good thing they're all close to each other. Not sure if the Stihl is worth $200 more than the JD. itsgottobepaint said something about echo, too, and their prices for commercial saws seem about the same as the JD unit. I'm thinking that the lightest saw will be the best for me since I'm (not) looking forward to hours and hours of using it, even if that means a saw that won't last as long.
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Thanks for the info Murf, but it was shortmagnum who made that suggestion. Is shortmagnum also a Ken? Not sure about that... Anyway, a hydraulic manual cutter seems to be a good idea but if I can't buy one somewhere I'll just have to go the gas saw route.
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Stopped at the Stihl dealer. These guys sell only for list price. The new telescoping pole pruner with the 4-Mix engine is $600. They do have a fixed boom one for $429 but that would be too short for me in some circumstances.
Went to the Deere dealer next. They sell Echo and Husky power pruners and Stihl string trimmers but claim that Stihl won't let them sell their power-pruners due to another retailer down the road that sells them. Sounds screwy to me (Stihl I mean). Anyway, the boom on the husky was way to weak for my tastes. It shook like a leaf when extended. The telescoping echo looked to be pretty nice but it was the same price as the Stihl at $600. They didn't sell JD power pruners and the guy said they used to and everyone bought the Echo or Husky while the Deere ones just gathered dust.
Not sure yet which way I'll go. I'd like to at least look at a Tanaka but the nearest dealer is an hour away.
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Thanks Murf! The fairmont pruner looks like it would be a lot easier to operate and would do 60% of what I need. I would still need something longer for the higher stuff so maybe I need two different tools. More tools is good! A google search and a search on Stanleys web site turned up zero hits on the Stanley saw. Have a link?
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At that price it's no wonder municipalities are going broke
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Murf, I'm not sure we're talking about the same kind of pruning. I don't want to top them, I just need to prune the side branches up 12 feet or so. These trees are 30-35 feet tall now and I expect them to reach upwards of 100 feet before logging them 15 years down the road.
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No decision yet. In the next week I'll drive down and look at the Tanaka saw, but right now I'm leaning towards popping for the stihl.
Abbeywoods, you bring up some good points. I take a lot of pride in doing these things myself, but there are a LOT of trees and a big hump to get over. I'd need the saw anyway for ongoing maintenance. As well, when the trees get to be somewhere in the 50-75 foot range I'll have to hire the work out because there is NO WAY I want to try climbing those suckers Thanks for the ideas.
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There isn't a huge demand for 35 foot Christmas trees. I have one neighbor who sells 'em and he buys one or two 30-35 foot Noble firs from me each year for about $100 each. Gotta get rid of the Nobles since they aren't useful for anything but pulp and Christmas trees.
Good tip about the per-tree sale. I'll have to see what the landscapers would pay but I'll bet it's not much in these parts. They grow like weeds - I have to pull 'em out of my driveway every year
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Some ebayers are insane. There is a NIB Stihl HT75 pole saw listed with a current bid of $570 dollars plus shipping and a few days to go yet on the auction. I think the HT75 is discontinued, and it's replacement is the HT101 which lists for $600. What am I missing? Is the HT75 a better saw than the new HT101?
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Thanks, Chief. I've seen these and some folks even say they work ok, but I figure I'd wear one out after every few dozen trees. I researched the tanakas more and they're out since they don't have a telescoping version. So it's looking like the Stihl wins. I didn't want to spend that much, but it will only hurt once.
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I need to limb the bottoms to have the trees grow taller, straighter, and faster for better timber. Plus it will improve air circulation and cut down on fungal diseases like needle cast. For now getting 12 feet up is fine.
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Billy, I'm not sure how much a crew like that costs but I'm sure it's more than $600! I won't do it all by myself as I have a cousin who is willing to help. Mostly I plan on doing a half-dozen trees each evening and just whittle away at it. I need the exercise anyway.
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Tom, yes I keep forgetting about the fire control benefits. We maintain a big fire break between the house and woods but fire is another good reason to limb. Our trees are mostly douglas firs and they grow 3-5 feet a year.
Chief, you're certainly right on the price of the Remington saw but when the cost of a portable generator is included the savings disappear.
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02-20-2004, 19:58 
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